PROBLEMS
by The Smash Artist
Summary: The sequel to The Legendary Bounty. What are the consequences for the universe now that Samus has the Triforce? Read to find out!I do not own the Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, or any other official Nintendo Characters. I own only the story.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

So this is it… 

_This is what ultimate power feels like._

Samus was running a dialogue in her head as she refilled her Hunter-class gunship's drained fuel reserves. All she had to do was think of large amounts of fuel in the fuel tank and just like magic it happened. She was again glad that she had helped the Luminoth on Aether so many years before. The energy collector she had received made it possible for the Triforce of Power's energy matrix to directly link with her power suit. Logically, she was glad she had taken it. Emotionally was a very different story, however. Emotionally she was torn between satisfaction with the infinite power and the guilt associated with betraying her employers and breaking her own code of ethics.

I need to turn this ship around, land it, march right back to Hyrule Castle, and turn in this Triforce. What the hell am I doing? But at the same time, I would probably be arrested if I set foot back on Planet Hylia. Besides, now that I've got some pull, I'll finally be able to get all the big paydays. And if those rotten Space Pirates mess with me again, I'll be able to destroy them without problem. I could even use this power to wipe their existence from the face of the universe…

What the hell am I saying? Extinction of a civilization goes against everything I believe! They do not deserve eradication—even if they are a bunch of worthless universal parasites. What if this power's—

"Lady, I have some potential employers holding on the communication line. Shall I put them on screen?" The computerized voice of Adam Malkovich pulled the bounty hunter out of her internal quandary.

"Yes Adam," said Samus to her ship's computer. "Let's see what kind of job they want me to do." And I'm just dying to try out my newfound power.

The screen appears some very high-ranking military officials: The Galactic Federation, again.

"Hello Ms. Aran." An older, but very commanding man in a cold gray suit appeared on the computer screen. The lines on his face showed years of stress, yet the jaw was staunchly square as ever. Samus did not like the look of people like him; they were usually creeps.

"Call me Samus," stated Samus flatly.

"Samus. I'm councilman Phineas Trogg. There is a small but plucky band of rogues lurking around the Lylat System on the outskirts of Federation space. They have been stealing from certain ships and have been ravaging certain planets. They continually elude our military troops. We need you to infiltrate them and learn their habits and secrets, and then contact me with their whereabouts. The Galactic Federation is prepared to pay you one million credits as soon as you hand over their location and ship schematics."

She disliked dealing with high-rankers like Councilman Trogg. They were often more unscrupulous than mercenaries and pirates combined. Still she needed to keep working, and this job would allow her to test out the true power of the Triforce of Power—her Triforce.

"Send the coordinates to my ship's computer," Samus stated coldly.

"Very good! The coordinates are on the way, as well as my contact information. I trust you will live up to your legendary reputation. Good day."

_The computer screen went black, and Samus' stomach started growling. It was time for a trip to her favorite interstellar café. This would be interesting._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Violent winds beat relentlessly on the tall grasses in Hyrule Field underneath ominous gray clouds. The stone framed royal palace windows also gave view of the ominous crimson shadows of Death Mountain, as though the volcano threatened to erupt and blanket the whole region in searing lava. The Hylian Princess Zelda had also heard reports of monsters reappearing in places like Lake Hylia and Link's native Faron Province.

"This is bad, this is very, very bad." Princess Zelda was frantically pacing back and forth between the throne room hallway and her master bedroom. "I knew I should have gone with that bounty hunter to retrieve the Triforce of Power. It seems to corrupt everyone but me…"

"What WERE you thinking, anyway?" Stated Link from their bed, rather snobbishly. At that comment she came over and smacked him on the head with his own soupspoon. "Owwww," recoiled Link and he sank further down in bed.

"None of this mess would have happened in the first place if you hadn't taken that stupid bet at Telma's!" Snapped Princess Zelda. She was referring to the town tavern and the soup-eating contest that some smart-ass Gorons had spurned the heroic swordsman into accepting. The intoxicating soup's recipe called for wildflowers plucked in grassy areas. Nobody had bothered to tell Link that these particular flowers had been plucked from Kakariko's graveyard. He had been poisoned by a bacterium with a name impossibly difficult to pronounce. Thankfully, Zelda's imposing Sheikah handmaiden Impa knew the very bacterium and the remedy for it. Hence, the nasty soup Link was forced to consume and his quarantine to the master bedroom of the royal palace.

"We could have gone together and retrieved the Triforce of Power from Ganon. Instead it is light years away from Hyrule, with someone that cannot control its power, and no one around here has ever fathomed space travel." Zelda sulked down onto the oversized lavender chair facing her royal wardrobe.

"As a guard at some of the trade meetings in the past, I seem to remember hearing Earth's ambassador mention a part-time race driver and bounty hunter named Captain Falcon. Why don't you hire him," suggested Link.

"Well, I cannot go with him. Trade negotiations with Holodrum's Lynna City are occurring all this week and my attendance is expected," replied the Hylian princess. "Falcon could not go alone because he almost certainly could not escape the Triforce's corrupting power."

"Well, as holder of the Triforce of Courage, Power can't corrupt me either. I'll go." With that statement, Link leapt out of bed only to be confronted by his beloved.

"You will go right back to bed, mister," commanded Zelda sternly. "You know Impa told you to rest for at least a week. Too much activity will only relapse your illness."

"But I heal quick," muttered Link. His life partner just ignored him, staring at herself in her large jeweled mirror and trying hard to think of a solution. "Perhaps if we recruited a team to do most of the fighting and I just went along to transport the Triforce…"

"But which team could we get?" Asked the royal maiden of her reflection.

"Well, remember those flyers we received about an upcoming Smash Brothers tournament; the ones that you didn't spend more than two minutes considering? I spent some time looking them over and examining the list of competitors. There is a team based off Planet Corneria called Star Fox. Their leader is a young fox called Fox McCloud – never mind the irony – and he has four associates that fly with him," said Link.

Zelda frowned at herself. Something inside her soul gnawed at her mind, telling her that Hyrule's climate and weather would only get worse if the Triforce was not recovered. The Hylian monarch knew the Triforce represented an integral part of climate control. Still, she hated the idea of Link going on an adventure in his condition. After so many circumstances had kept them apart, Princess Zelda was finally able to be with her hero Link. And Hyrule's Royal Knights would be losing, albeit temporarily, their leader. She turned to face her Legendary Hero:

"I'll send for the Star Fox team immediately. You had better come back alive and sane."

Princess Zelda's controlled fury almost relapsed Link right there in bed. Though demure, she could be really bossy – and scary – when she wanted to be.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Hunter-class gunship pulled into the airlock tunnel, and sank down gently into the magnetic field of a parking place. A flat, but strong track extended to the ship's door like a snake about to devour its prey. The ship's door opened to reveal a tall, muscular, yet petite blonde woman a blue tight fitting jumpsuit with a laser pistol in holster. Her blue slender leather slip-ons met the dark metallic floor of the corridor, as she walked toward the building. Samus had opted to leave her clunky power suit on the ship to go get some food at the diner.

_Perhaps after some sap sac tea and a plate of zebbo n' waffles I'll get a handle on things_, reasoned Samus somewhat fallaciously. She opened the door to the main building and cheery light invaded the cold metallic hallway. The black and white tile floors supported a long white marble counter with smooth red rotating stools facing an open kitchen. The grills were visible, as was the large sparkly soda fountain and the port-windowed swing door leading to the back rooms of the diner. Several pairs of smooth red booths hugged both the far walls and were separated only by four-person marble tables. Red panel lanterns hung down over each of these tables, bathing them in the same cheery iridescent light. A relic of technology that Samus had heard called a jukebox hugged the wall adjacent to the center of the long marble counter. Various young waiters and waitresses of many different species were hurriedly but cheerfully moving about the place.

A pimply-faced redheaded dragonoid recognized Samus and immediately ushered her to a seat at the counter. Great… Astanyax is working again, thought the bounty hunter with tired disgust. He was so ridiculously enamored with her exploits, and often innocently harassed her about her adventures. But he had memorized her favorite thing on the menu. And he looked exhausted tonight. He probably would not be a bother.

However, Samus spied a rather disturbing duo at a booth over on the far wall. Their wasp-like heads gave them away immediately. A couple of Space Pirates had decided to interrupt her peace by eating at the same diner at the same time. Never mind the fact that they were wearing mere science uniforms. She felt the same distant voice in the back of her mind that had waged a vicious argument with her aboard the ship. One Pirate scientist felt her needlelike glare and acknowledged her with a momentary sneer before turning his attention back to his tablemate. Samus felt the back of her right hand pulse. She looked down at it with surprise: a small triangle positioned right below her middle knuckle. It seemed to burn blackness. With each pulse the desire to crush the two insectoids grew stronger until the hunter was forced to dig her fingers into her forearm to subside it. A little blood surfaced from the wound, which Samus quickly wiped away. _Okay, if they ignore me I won't clean this diner with their carcasses._

"Samus, is everything okay?" Astanyax's slightly nasally rasp voiced genuine concern as he set her meal in front of her. "Fine, thanks," sneered the bounty hunter. The dragonoid waiter just nodded and let her be. Samus began pushing chunks of insect meat and waffle into her mouth like she had a grudge against her fork. The first sweet sip of tea brought relaxation.

Samus was just finishing her meal when the pair of Space Pirates walked past her stool toward the exit. "Is it that time of the month again, orphan?" Whispered one with a mocking snicker. That did it. Samus dropped her fork on her plate and very nearly broke it in half. The black triangle was now throbbing on the back of her right hand. An inhuman force raised her out of her seat. The pair of Pirate scientists turned around just in time to react in frozen terror at the muscular woman facing them.

Samus grabbed the first one and threw him over the counter, crashing all sorts of dishes and silverware on the tile floor with him. The second one hissed in panic before she rammed his head into the cash register with enough force to crush his exoskull. Patrons and staff had left their seats and were trying to stay along the perimeter of the building. Some were screaming. Some younger ones were crying. Most were just stunned at the carnage their eyes beheld. The first one had recovered and leapt over the counter to face the furious bounty hunter.

"Ssso, you want to cause problems, eh?" Hissed the Pirate. "We are pretty good at solving problems of wanted criminals." Samus simply charged over to him and broke his jaw with one punch. In fact, the punch very nearly snapped his neck. Sheer surprise from this very fact took all movement from him. Samus seized his body with strength not her own and dragged it to the burgers cooking on the grill. She swiftly swept aside the meat patties as the wretch struggled aimlessly to get free of her unreasonably strong clutch. She then forced his battered head down onto the grill and turned the fire up to full force. He felt his slender cheeks frying on the black iron slab and screamed bloody murder at the pain. Sinister laughter emanated from the woman as the scent of grilling insect filled the air. By the time the scientist managed to wiggle free, his face was cooked beyond recognition.

"Now you see the price of pissing me off, you miserable fecal dwellers. Your whole species will die at my hands. Now get out of here before I decide to launch you out the airlock. I would be doing this universe a favor." Samus' mind immediately reasserted itself and she dropped to her butt in embarrassment and terror at what she had done. The horribly burned Space Pirate scientist tried desperately to see through blistered lenses to find his comatose partner. It was a rather pathetic site to watch him bump into seats and chairs while choking out his partner's name through swelled mandibles. No one else in the place dared move for fear of what she might do to them. She rose up, face a mixture of fear and embarrassment, and she swiftly jogged toward the exit. Before she left, she stopped near the dented register, and typed in a few thousand credits to compensate for the damage while cursing herself under her breath.

Samus quickly got in her ship and left for the remote region of space that held the planet SR388. The ride there was interesting. The last thing she wanted to hear was the voice of Adam Malkovich. But sure enough:

"Lady, I heard commotion from within the diner. What happened?"

Samus just stared in stunned silence at the gunship's view screen. Her mind played the scene on constant loop.

"Lady?"

"Not now, Adam," commanded Samus. The computer recognized her grave tone and did not pursue inquiry.

_What the hell did I just do? Not only did I injure a couple of legal civilians in a neutral section of space, but also I can never go back to my favorite diner. I had to spend all my last paycheck for my outburst. And I think I screwed my reputation beyond repair. But what scares me the most is that I enjoyed the senseless violence. It was pure bliss. It was like dropping a blob of aloe vera on terrible sunburn. That settles it. I'm going to take this ship back to Hylia and give the Triforce of Power to Zelda. I can't handle this…_

_Yes I can. I can. That was just a little accident, that's all. If I just focus more discipline next time; just a little longer. I'll keep it just a little longer. Just until I accomplish my mission…_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Princess Zelda and Link waited in the courtyard corridor adjacent the castle's main building for a solitary Arwing. The stone platform and lack of trees provided plenty of room for such a craft to land. And the outer wall and its trees would hide such an occurrence from all but the most adept Castle Town citizen. Rain beat mercilessly on the Hylian Princess and Legendary Hero as they waited. A strange noise and tremendous gust of air accompanied the azure flames shooting out the bottom and the back ends of a descending metallic craft that looked to Link like some sort of strange flute. He looked at Princess Zelda and she nodded. A small aft portion of its underbelly extended out to cradle the vehicle as it landed. The long rectangular glass hatch opened with a hiss. Out leapt a small fox decked out in lime green with a silver colored flight jacket and white Mohawk of fur on his head. He immediately noticed the pair waiting for him and extended a gloved hand in greeting.

"You two must be the party I was looking for," said the creature. Link was surprised an animal like this was capable of speech, let alone _his_ speech. "I was instructed to head to these coordinates right here, and meet a Princess Zelda and a Captain Link. I'm Fox McCloud, leader of the Star Fox team."

"Yes, I am Princess Zelda," said the Hylian Princess, meeting Fox's hand in a firm shake. "And this is Link." She gestured to the speechless man in the green tunic. "Where is the rest of your party?"

"They're still in orbit," responded Fox casually. "But don't worry, they can still participate in our conversation."

"Very well then. We should get out of this terrible storm and negotiate services," stated the Princess. "Right this way." She started toward Hyrule Castle's main building and the two males followed.

Link remained speechless, studying this walking, talking canine very carefully. He had seen his share of adventurers, and immediately recognized this fox's type: _cocky, but intelligent. Probably more mercenary in his style too. I wonder if his whole team is of that sort…_

"You don't say much, do you?" Link looked up to see Fox staring at him almost competitively.

"Sorry," coughed Link. "It's just that I'm used to fighting creatures like you if they're sentient enough to talk, because they're usually trying to kill me."

"Well, I'm here to work with you," stated Fox. "If we can negotiate properly."

_Yep, the mercenary, _thought Link as they continued down the corridors toward the palace den.

…

Samus' hunter-class gunship broke beneath the clouds and cruised over the narrow river. The dull orange vessel cruised between towers of stone and steel toward the Cornerian Military Building. The Intergalactic Bounty Hunter was going to meet with General Pepper to get the briefing in general. Well, in a manner of speaking.

"Lady, we are receiving a proximity hail from the Military Building," stated Adam, the ship's computer. "I shall transmit it."

"Very good," stated Samus.

Onscreen appeared the face of an aged basset hound with droopy jowls. His facial slovenliness contrasted sharply his rubicund command uniform with its spruce golden sashes and epaulettes. Atop his head sat a matching shako displaying the appropriate insignia. Samus immediately regarded this official trustworthy.

"Hello, I am General Pepper, Commander-in-Chief of the Cornerian Defense forces. You must be Samus Aran. Councilman Trogg contacted me earlier this morning. Thank you again for agreeing to this mission."

"Well, you guys are paying me quite nicely for it," cloyed Samus.

"Our usual squadron was not available for this mission and you have quite the reputation for missions like this one. Now then, a band of rogue Space Pirates has kidnapped the niece of a Cornerian magistrate. We received the ransom note this afternoon and immediately began tracking the engine trail of the spacecraft that had sent it. They seem to have landed in our own backyard. Out beyond the city lies a place called the Ukuku Wilderness. The Space Pirates were last seen causing trouble near Lightfoot Village."

"Y'know General, I'll probably be able to find it faster if you send my ship the coordinates," remarked Samus shortly.

"Yes, well, these Pirates have traveling with them someone we understand you've encountered a time or two." A smaller screen appeared on the view screen next to the aged beagle and Samus bristled at the picture: a dull metallic humanoid body with several golden ports.

"Yes." Samus' brow furrowed. "He is a dangerous supersoldier known as Kanden. He's completely insane. That humanoid lab accident nearly killed me the last time we met."

"If you should need any help send me a call, and I will round up a squadron for you. Good luck, Samus." With that message, the General's image disappeared from the ship's view screen. The ship's computer received and uploaded the coordinates of the mysterious jungle known as Ukuku Wilderness.

"Adam, silence all incoming transmissions for the next two hours. I've got to get some sleep," stated Samus, yawning. "This day has been exhausting."

"Yes, lady," replied the computer. "I will dim the lights as well." Samus disappeared into her sleeping chamber and sank into bed.


	5. Chapter 5

The main dining hall of Hyrule Castle was a suitable place to begin negotiations. Fox hadn't eaten in quite a while and the meal would help establish a better relationship. Princess Zelda had overlooked that fact with Samus and she did not intend to repeat such an error. After a grand lunch, both parties began serious talk. Fox activated a special ring he had. The images of the Star Fox team appeared on the center of the table in miniature holographic forms. No stranger to odd magic, Link marveled nonetheless at the bizarre sight. Even Zelda startled a little.

"Princess, allow me to introduce my fellow team members," began Fox. He was interrupted.

"How did you do that?" Asked Link suspiciously. Fox grinned and replied:

"I forget that you guys know very little about technology. Let me see if I can put this into terms… This ring I wear has a special, um, stone inside it that allows it to project images of certain people. But they have to be on the right channel… in the right area, in order for it to work. Right now my team members are aboard their Arwings, orbiting this planet. And the ring allows them to watch what is happening and to interact with us."

The canine pilot glanced at his two negotiators in hope that they could grasp what he meant even a little. Link looked like he had a million questions, but Zelda seemed to grasp the general concept. Fox continued.

"Let me introduce them to you." Fox indicated first the one with the beak and what looked like blue feathers. "He is my right hand hawk and good friend, Falco Lombardi. The best pilot you ever saw…"

"Stop it, Fox," replied Falco. "We're here for business."

Fox indicated the frog with the strange hat next. "This is our resident mechanic and caution extraordinaire, Slippy Toad."

"Nice to meet'cha," greeted Slippy, in his trademark cheeriness. Fox indicated the remaining member of the team.

"This furry fellow here is Peppy Hare. He is our eldest member and pretty much like a father to me."

"Hello," replied the aged rabbit. "Now, then, this must be pretty serious. The Cornerian Defense Forces won't usually send us to such a distant planet. Doubly serious in that the Galactic Federation requested it."

Princess Zelda began, "I don't know how much your military told you, so I will start at the beginning. Some time ago, an ancient legendary evil appeared in our land again. Named Ganondorf, he had access to a certain power source. A hero had always appeared to defeat him. My time was no different. We thought the Legendary Hero had finally killed him this time. To our shock and horror, Ganondorf reappeared, established a fortress in a dark world he created, and was most surely planning another invasion of Hyrule. But we didn't count on his reappearance so soon, or at such a bad time."

"What do you mean, 'bad?" Asked Fox.

"By eating some bad soup the hero had fallen ill to a disease that prevents strenuous activity, and for him to go out in combat would surely mean his death," stated Princess Zelda, somewhat nervously.

"So," said Link, "We hired a warrior from space with a great reputation. We hired Samus Aran come to stop Ganondorf. We thought she would return his, um, power source to us, but instead kept it for herself…"

"Wait, wait, waitaminute," demanded Falco. "What is this power source?"

Zelda and Link exchanged glances. Zelda spoke reluctantly. "It is called the Triforce of Power. There are three Triforces that balance Hyrule's physical and spiritual ecology. I have one. The Legendary Hero has one. But, so did Ganondorf."

"And now Samus Aran has it. Why is that bad?" Fox McCloud was reclining fairly casually in his chair.

"Well," replied Link, "First, because the Triforce of Power is no longer on this planet the ecology is throwing a great big temper tantrum and we don't know how much worse it will get."

"Second," added Zelda, "The Triforce of Power corrupts whomever touches it, unless that person bears another Triforce. We're pretty sure Samus doesn't."

"Wait a minute! Are you hiring us to go capture Samus?" Asked Slippy. Fox sat up with concern.

"We're hiring you to go retrieve the Triforce of Power. Link here will go with you." Replied Zelda somewhat flustered.

"Just whom is this Legendary Hero, anyway?" Asked Falco. "If Link's going with us, and you just said the Legendary Hero had one, and then that only someone with a Triforce thing could handle the Power Triforce..."

"Yes," stated Link, somewhat sheepishly.

"You mean, you screwed yourself by eating bad soup?" Replied Falco incredulously. Link looked away and the falcon pilot started laughing.

"Quit laughing! It isn't funny!" Demanded Link. "I thought the soup was going to be okay. I didn't know those dumb Gorons would cheat!"

"You mean," gasped Falco, "you ate bad soup over a bet?!" He broke into an even bigger fit of laughter. Even Peppy and Slippy were chuckling. Fox, out of courtesy, stifled his own laughter by clearing his throat. Link looked like he wanted to demolish Falco's image with his bare hands. Zelda calmed Link with a hand in his lap and assurance that she was not laughing, even though she secretly thought it hilarious.

"But we will have to go find Samus," stated Peppy bluntly. "We really don't want to tangle with her. No one else ever damaged the Space Pirates like she did."

"We're prepared to pay you fifty thousand gold pieces for your service. All you have to do is get Link in position to retrieve the Triforce. Oh, and make sure he doesn't die." Princess Zelda looked positively worried now.

Fox spoke up. "You don't understand. These Space Pirates have long been the scourge of our galaxy. Our Cornerian Defenses could barely make a dent in their attack. You're lucky they haven't come here; that they don't want anything you have. They would obliterate your Royal Military. Luckily for us the entire Pirate squadron was called back to their home planet Zebes to deal with a bounty hunter we later found out was Samus. We never heard from them again. She decimated them. Not once, not twice, but three times. And she destroyed Zebes."

"I reckon fifty thousand's not enough," stated Peppy.

"Okay, one hundred thousand gold pieces… You can't just walk away, can you?" Asked the distressed Hylian Princess.

"Let me start over," explained Fox. "You know how powerful Samus must be on her own, but now she's got that Triforce as well. It might be corrupting her thinking, but it's on her side. We've got to tangle with that too. And there will probably be combat involved…"

"Technically, we can refuse," said Slippy matter-of-factly. "It was a job opportunity from the defense forces. We're their best team."

"Considering the danger involved, I don't think we could do it for any less than one hundred fifty thousand gold pieces," said Fox flatly.

"Could you step outside for a moment?" Asked Princess Zelda. "Link and I need to discuss this privately." Fox nodded in affirmation, turned off his ring, and walked out to the hallway. After a few minutes spent studying nearby suits of armor, Link beckoned him back inside the dining room. Fox reactivated his ring and sat down.

"We've discussed it and we're prepared to pay two hundred thousand gold pieces for this mission," said Princess Zelda somewhat reluctantly, with a little nudging from her hero.

"We'll take it," stated Fox McCloud with a smile. He signed the paper contract right below the royal signature. The Hylian princess and the canine pilot shook hands.

"I've always wanted to get a look at Samus' piloting skills. She's got a killer reputation at everything else," said Falco coolly.

"Link's coming with us, right?" Asked Peppy. "And Link, you said you were suffering from some food poisoning? Just so happens that each Arwing comes equipped with a first aid kit that has medicine to treat food poisoning. It might help a little."

The Ordon swordsman watched Fox discreetly as the party rose from the dining table. _Just like I thought, mercenaries. Nice mercenaries, but still…_

(a/n: one gold piece is worth ten times a single rupee and about forty times a single credit)

…

_Where am I? I don't recognize any of this, yet it seems somehow… familiar. _Samus found herself in full combat armor in the middle of a temperate plateau. The dull green grass was threatened by ominous gray storm clouds overhead. To her left stood a series of clay red mountains, also bludgeoned dull by the clouds. On her right side a deep gorge made crossing to the distant forest impossible. A curtain of ever-burning flame surrounded the field. The hunter swore she saw a couple droplets fall onto her visor. In her distant periphery was some sort of a large marble palace. Surrounding thick fog made it impossible to tell for certain. A familiar screech cut through the clouds directly overhead. The hunter checked her missile supplies and found a full two hundred and fifty. She would need them.

The large, bony, spade-like tail poked through the murk. More and more of it gave way, revealing two ostrich-like hind limbs adorned with razor sharp claws and a snakelike back. It glimmered beet red in the light of the flame. Samus felt her heart leap in excitement of momentary combat. The creature finished its descent and landed right on the field in front of her, huge leathery wings folding over most of its form. Only its pterodactylian head and long snout remained visible. _I thought I barbecued you on Zebes, Ridley… Well, I'll finish the job now._

"You will not hurt the innocents," hissed Ridley with vigor. "The power doesn't belong to you."

Samus' helmet hid the puzzled expression on her face. _Isn't that usually my line? What power – **kill the insolent. He has crossed us too many times. His forces have caused too much pain. **_Samus felt a tremendous urge to launch herself without remorse toward her kneeling adversary. The flames along the perimeter crackled to life, as the ominous clouds released a torrent on the two combatants. Ridley took to the air. Samus glimpsed a glowing triangle on the back of Ridley's left fore paw.

"You must die for the greater good, Sssssamus," snarled Ridley with menace. The dragon's left claws began to mutate and change, melting together in the shape of a longsword. "You are sssstill weak… you don't have the medallions…"

For some odd reason Samus could not explain, she felt her blood boil at this statement. _I'm tired of you, Ridley. Death and destruction follow you wherever you go. _Samus felt the back of her right hand throb, and suddenly remembered her special power. _But now I can end your existence permanently… for the galaxy. _The giant space dragon took to the air, weaving in and out of the clouds, occasionally swooping down to try to swipe Samus with its mutant paw. The Bounty Hunter kept a careful watch on the skies as she armed her Wave Beam and prepared to fire it at the Space Pirate General. But her alien energy source transformed it into a Wavebuster attack. Ridley was unprepared and could not dodge the weapon. The dragon crashed to the ground in front of Samus, producing a fountain of grass and dirt. Electricity continued zapping into Ridley's chest and the dragon screeched as it felt its wings burn away. Heavy rain continued to assault the two warriors.

Samus armed and fired a Super Missile at the stunned space dragon only to receive an assault of cannon malfunction alerts on her visor. She glanced down at her arm cannon and could only watch stupidly as the super missile expanded and flattened, merging with the cannon. She watched it take the shape of a broadsword. Grinning like a maniac, she marched over to Ridley in its divot. She swung right at its head, but was forced to parry when Ridley's mutant paw met her mutant cannon. Echoes of clashing steel reverberated off the distant mountains and the nearby canyon. Back and forth, they went at it. Both seemed to know exactly how to brandish these "swords" though Samus was pretty sure neither of them had a lesson in their lives. Fatigue forced both Ridley and Samus to back off from each other. All of a sudden five glowing orbs appeared above the dragon's head. **_The medallions! It has the medallions! _**Samus felt great fear overtake her nerves as she watched these five "medallions" channel a different colored energy – green, red, blue, violet, and orange – into Ridley's mutant arm.

Samus felt herself unable to move as Ridley struck with lightning speed. She felt its sword-paw stab through armor, flesh, and bone. All she could do was stare at the righteous fury in the dragon's eyes. The throbbing on her right hand ceased immediately. The bounty hunter heard the familiar klaxon of the low energy warning. _Oh my god, I'm dying! **THE MEDALLIONS!!!**_

Samus sat straight up in bed, eyes wide. She felt her blankets and pajamas damp of perspiration. "Lady, is everything all right? You were screaming. Shall I put out a distress signal?" Adam's voice was a welcome sound after the surreal nightmare Samus had just experienced.

"No, Adam. I had a bad dream. It was just a bad dream, that's all."

She checked her watch. Four hours had passed. Deciding that she wouldn't get back to sleep, Samus opted for her ship's shower pod and then a replicated cup of black coffee. "Adam, set a course for the Lylat System." No sense delaying any longer.


End file.
